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Thank you all so much. A lot of the things said added perspective to the situation. I'm glad this forum is here, it helps to understand things a lot better. Thank youu

I am located in Miami, Fl. I am an EMT and my partner a CCT Medic. When I said the patient wasn't that serious, I meant after we provided O2 and her sat went up. Before and even after if she would have still been in a bad state to me it would be serious, since we treat the patient not the vitals. The 79 sat was definitely serious of course. Back then when I took my brother to that ER, I wasn't in the medical field, I had no idea. What boggles my mind is the fact that the daughter was screaming and asking for help and no one did anything. I notice that at other hospitals the staff is more aware of their sorroundings. Should this be a problem that this hospital should try to fix? Of course, but how can that be fixed? I think someone should have at least approched the patient. Also, this wasn't my patient. I did not want to overstep on another crews call, and even more being from another private ambulance. I was unsure on what I was allowed to do. My partner and I didn't really talk about it. It all happened too fast so we didn't have time to figure out whether it was appropriate or not.

Hello all, Two days ago my partner and I transported a patient to a hospital I'm not to fond of. Years ago I took my brother to the Peds ER for a laceration to the hand and waited almost two hours. Anyway, our patient was stable, she was there for positive C-Dif. We had been waiting for almost 30 minutes when another ambulance company walked in with their patient. They were standing almost 6 feet behind us. They were a BLS unit and neither of the EMTs spoke Spanish. Their patient only spoke Spanish, but the patient's daughter did speak English. All of the sudden the patient's daughter starts screaming, "HELP! HELP! She can't hear me! I think she's going." I could see the fear in her eyes and the patient didn't look good at all. She was pale. I looked around and no one in the ER stopped to see what was going on. It WAS a busy night, but even though the lady was screaming no nurse or physician or ER tech acknowledged her. Everyone kept going about their business. One of the EMTs wasn't there and the other one just stood waiting for someone to do something. He couldn't really communicate with the patient, but he didn't even try. So i approached the patient, felt for a pulse, it was there and it was regular. I asked the daughter for medical hx, she said only TIA a few months ago. The patient looked like she was in her late 80s - early 90s. I called for my partner to bring our life-pak since our patient wasn't on it. We took blood pressure, sat, and did a four lead. B/P was a bit low but not too bad, her sat was 79, but she appeared to be on O2 because she had a NC on. EKG looked fine. My partner did a stroke assessment, fine also. The only thing was her O2 sat. I went to see how many liters she was on and when i looked behind the stretcher there was no O2 tank. I asked the EMT if they had one in the truck to bring it if not i would give them ours, we had 3 spares. So he brought his last O2 tank. Apparently he didn't want to waste his last tank. As soon as we put her on 3 liters her sat went up to 96 and a minute later she started responding better. The EMTs said she was there for a high fever. They thought the O2 wasn't necessary. I had two problems with this: 1) How come not one person in the ER stopped to see what was going on? 2) Is the fact that you are in a BLS unit an excuse to not give proper care to the patient or take signs and symptoms slightly? The patient was not that serious, but had she had O2, her daughter wouldn't have had to go through that moment. She was terrified, she kept grabbing my arm and asking me to do something. Also the patient was lethargic and maybe she would have been feeling better the whole transport if she was on O2. When I work BLS units, i treat all my patients as if they were in an ALS unit, and i mean the assessments and constant monitoring of the patient. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to provide care to another company's patient, but I did what I thought was right, of course my partner and I kept our eye on our patient.

Hahaha, you guys are funny. I'm glad I found "the city". I've already learned so much from all the knowledgeable posts. Thank you guys! (:

Hehe, oh yes, it's sister, but no problem. Thank you for the advice (:

Hello there fellow emtcitiers, I was looking around the web trying to find some information on EMS that I could read and get updated with on my down time and I came across this wonderful, for a lack of better words, place. I am Jamny, an EMT working for a private ambulance company in South florida. I live in Miami, but I don't only work there. The company I work for has many stations all over Fl, I work out of both Dade and Broward county. I became an EMT exactly one year ago, and i've been working for nine months now. I am the enthusiastic, give it her all, always hyper, partner. I currently work 12 hour overnight shifts three days a week, but i am always on call. I love this profession and respect everyone that's part of it. It takes some real good souls to do what we do. Of course there are some that do it for all the wrong reasons, but those of us who do it for ALL the right reasons are very special. I love science and medicine. When I was younger I wanted to be a Physician. I started college as a Biology major, spent two years taking classes and then I signed up for an EMT program to add to my Med School application. Through out the time of the EMT class I fell in love. Not with a boy, but with this wonderful career. After some twist and turns, and a lot of interacting with nurses, physicians, and healthcare providers in general, i've decided I no longer want to be an MD. I have a tattoo on my wrist, I got it back when I had just finished EMT school and still wanted to be a doctor. It's half the star of life and half the caduceus. It's a reminder of where my heart is. In January I will be starting a Paramedic program. I am more than excited and ready for this. The company I work for has many opportunities for both EMTs and Paramedics, but my main goal is to get upgraded to Critical Care Paramedic. I've had the pleassure of working with a few of these special people and I know that's where I want to be. Somewhere in my future I do see myself becoming a Physician Assistant. My love for medicine has led me to that decision. But, even as a PA, I will never let go of my EMS provider side. EMS has given me the outmost satisfaction, and there is nothing in the world like going to work happy to be going to work, if you know what I mean.. This profession is a blessing life has given me. I solute all of you for the work you do. Annddd now this long intro is done.

Hello, Working as an EMT before starting medic school is definitely a plus, but you should begin medic school once YOU feel ready. After i finished my EMT program it took me three months to get certified and find a job. Once i started working i decided i would start medic school as soon as possible. However, i did not because of financial issues. I am so happy i took the time to just work. I`ve been working as an EMT for 9 months now. The first month i worked BLS units, then i started incorporating some ALS shifts. I now work overnights and in the company i work for at night there are only ALS and Critical Care units. After these few months my passion for EMS has only grown and i am more than ready to start paramedic school, i like to think i have all the basics down. My goals as of now is to get the CCT-EMT training my company offers and get into that CCT unit, and start Paramedic school in January. Taking some time off of school, i feel, has prepared me to succeed in the paramedic program. These are my two cents, but you should do what feels right to you and what you think will give you a better outcome. Best of wishes.